Chasing Shadows
by TheOneAndOnly1993
Summary: Three princesses dead. Murdered, at the hands of an unknown enemy. His motives, a mystery. His methods vary, but never deter from being gruesome. His pattern seems completely random. Old friends become distrustful enemies, skeptical of who they can trust. As the many kingdoms scramble to close their borders, Finn and Jake set out to find this shadowy killer.


**Chasing Shadows**

_an 'Adventure Time' fic by TheOneAndOnly1993_

* * *

"Bee Princess is dead."

The phone call was made by Princess Bubblegum, not long after Finn and Jake had gotten back from a grand (and may I say fiery) adventure through the Fire Kingdom. Well, "adventure" would be the proper thing to call it, as Finn would say. Anyone else who had no desire to be on good terms with the explosive Flame Princess would refer to fire wolf hunting as "pest control."

But before the duo could even put ice on their burns and bruises, they found their messaging machine overflowing with twenty-something messages from Princess Bubblegum. They only listened to a few, as in each the princess's desperation grew more worrisome than the last. When Finn called her back, Bubblegum's voice sounded tired, frail, drained of any emotion. And maybe that was why the news hit harder when the boys heard her say, "Bee Princess is dead."

The phone nearly dropped from Finn's hand as he fumbled to regain his hold. "Woah, woah, WOAH! PB, slow down! Alright? _Slow down._"

There was a moment of silence before tired Princess Bubblegum spoke again. "Okay."

"Alright. Okay. Good. So how did Bee Princess . . . d-die?" This was not right. Finn refused to believe something like this had happened. No, _could _happen. How could _any_ of the princesses be dead? They were princesses!

"She was murdered." Silence heavier than iron and as unbearable as the sun fell upon the room.

That time, Finn did drop the phone. Always at his side, Jake stretched an arm out and caught it before it hit the ground. "Sorry about that, Princess," said Jake. He cast a worried glance up at Finn, who had his hand on the counter and contemplated his own two feet, deep in thought. _He's going to be blaming himself for this, the poor guy._ "That's a pretty radical thing to say, Princess. You sure about this?"

Another period of silence. Just before it lingered for far too long, long enough for Jake to get a lurch of sudden fear in his throat, Bubblegum spoke again. "Yes. I'm sure." If Jake didn't know any better, he would have thought Princess Bubblegum was dead herself. How could she sound so apathetic? "Bee Princess was found yesterday morning," she explained. "Apparently, she died of a fever that had struck earlier in the week. There was a small service in her honor before lunchtime. Her kingdom was there. And her daughter." Bubblegum sounded as though she choked back a sob, but Jake would not dare to ask. "When I conducted an autopsy on her body, I found her heart had turned black, and her lungs spotted."

"Wait, _what?_" Finn shrieked. He immediately dropped down to one knee and ripped the phone from Jake's hands. "Princess, you're saying she was _poisoned? _Someone actually meant to _murder _a _princess_?"

". . . That is a likely possibility."

"Then we gotta find who did this and bring 'em to justice!" Finn cried into the microphone.

"Ye-heh-hea! Justice!" Jake echoed. The two of them exchanged a fist bump, but whatever vigor they may have had in that instance was crushed when Princess Bubblegum said, "There's more."

Finn's heart froze, and he let his fist fall to the floor. "M-_More_? You mean, like, more information? Or . . . or . . ." The very words caught in his throat, as if speaking them would make a thought become a reality.

Princess Bubblegum seemed to have no problem finishing for him. "Murders. Yes. Breakfast Princess collapsed before at the dinner table later that night. In no time I discovered her meal that morning was poisoned, and only hers." She paused for a second before including, "Her people weep." Bubblegum's voice sounded weak, like she was on the verge of crying at that very moment.

Finn and Jake shared brokenhearted glances with one another. For all they knew, she could be. They remembered all the times Breakfast Princess invited them to a Sunday brunch, or went for a swim in the kingdom's syrup moat. That's when a sudden horror crept into Finn's mind.

"Her little sister! Is she-?"

"Toast Princess is alive and well, Finn. She is guarded constantly by her Bacon Brothers guard, and every meal is sampled before it's served."

Words could not describe the relief Finn felt after what was like the claw of fear squeezing his heart. "Thank Glob," he sighed. "How . . . Is Toast Princess alright?" He felt completely dumb for asking such a question. Her sister was murdered! Of course she's not okay! But he couldn't find a better way of asking; not before the silence lingered for too long.

"The little one hasn't stopped crying," said Princess Bubblegum.

Jake craned his neck towards the phone and told her, "We should all go to her. That kid's gonna need all the friends in the world right now." Finn offered a weak smile, silently agreeing.

"I would go. Believe me, Jake. I would go. But Engagement Ring Princess already went."

"Engagement Ring Princess?" Jake smiled up at Finn, trying to lighten the mood but it was clear that the news hit him the hardest. Still, he saw no need not to proceed with his little jape. "Haven't heard from her for a while. Thought that girl dropped off the face of the Earth! Did she get to the Breakfast Kingdom yet?"

A sniffle from the other line. "No. She '_fell_' down the stairs this morning in her own castle and broke her neck. Or so our killer would have us believe. The gem of her ring was destroyed at the top of the stairs, and that's what sent her into a shock, causing her to fall." Jake only had to steal a quick peak of Finn to see his face darken.

Whether it was the pain finally beginning to surface in Bubblegum's demeanor or the gravity of the situation that formed a softball-sized lump in Jake's throat, he could not truly say. "Oh Glob . . ." was all he could utter.

"This is worse than you think," continued Bubblegum. "Very, very few people in Ooo knew about Engagement Ring Princess's vulnerability. Finn, Jake, this is bigger than any of us could imagine. Someone is trying to murder all of the princesses." She allowed her words to sink in for a full minute. In that time, Finn and Jake for once had nothing to say. Their actions spoke volumes, however. Finn's sword hand opened, closed, opened again, grasping at an invisible sword hilt. Jake kept his eyes out window, spotting the Candy Kingdom across the meadow with its drawbridge raised and the Gumball Guardians seated, carefully analyzing the land before them. But what good could they do against an invisible princess-killer? He thought back on their departure from the Fire Kingdom earlier that day, how Flame Princess and Cinnamon Bun and all the other flame people were waving goodbye, all smiles and pleasantries. Was Flame Princess in danger too? Has the news even reached the Fire Kingdom yet?

"Finn, Jake." Bubblegum's voice came so abruptly that it startled the two of them out of their deep thinking. "The Land of Ooo is wrought with terror. The Kingdoms fear for their princesses, and the princesses fear for themselves. Never have we faced a mass hysteria on this large a scale."

"Are any of them even _doing_ anything?" asked Finn, desperate for any bit of good news. "Lumpy Space is one of the largest kingdoms in the world! What about Skeleton Princess? _She _can't be in danger, right? Oh, _please_ tell me Turtle Princess is doing some serious research on who could be doing all of this."

Bubblegum sighed; a long, tired, grief-wracked sigh. "You don't know Lumpy Space Princess if you thought she was going to take any _real_ action," Bubblegum claimed with scorn. "She's locked herself in Lumpy Space and closed off all of the entrances. I keep trying to call her but she's always hanging up. Turtle Princess would rather hide away in her Library and bury her head in a book like nothing's wrong, and Skeleton Princess has actually abandoned the Boneyard Kingdom as soon as she heard of Engagement Ring Princess's murder. She is on a constant march with her undead army, not telling anyone where she's going. Not even me. She thinks that the less the people know, the safer it'll be. But if the rumors are to be believed, then she has taken Raggedy Princess in under her protection, as well as several lesser princesses."

Though Finn wanted to be angry at everyone's cowardice (mainly LSP's), he couldn't help but be impressed at Skeleton Princess's initiative, and relieved that shy little Raggedy Princess is under her protection. _But even so . . ._ "You're telling me that _no one _is doing anything about this? That they're all just bumming around and waiting until this all blows over or they get _killed_!?"

Princess Bubblegum sighed once more, long and deep. "Most of us aren't made for fighting, Finn. Sometimes running is all we can do. That's why Glob made heroes. That's why we have you. And we need you two to set out, and uncover the identity of this regicidal monster before he strikes again."

"But what about you, Peebles?" asked Jake. "You gotta be working up some weird science-y mumbo jumbo to stop all these princesses from getting hurt!"

"I have." At that moment, the duo heard the crinkle of old heavy pages turning in the background. "Well, sort of," she confessed. "I'm hoping that whatever I find in these old books on black magic will help me uncover whoever, or _whatever, _is responsible for these attacks."

"Are you keeping safe?" Finn asked, perhaps a little too quickly.

Finally, a lighthearted chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Yes, Finn. I'm fine. I have two guards on me at all times."

_"Hullo Finn!" _came the voice of a Banana Guard.

It was such a relief to hear Bubblegum showing a sign of life again, however fleeting it was for that one moment. That was enough to rejuvenate Finn's vigor. He stood up, clutching the phone in one hand and the other balled in a fist against his breast. "Princess Bubblegum," he pledged, "we will not let you down."

"Good." Princess Bubblegum sounded genuinely relieved, and that stirred up some old feelings in Finn's belly. "But there's something I want you to do first. When you finished your work there, call me again."

"Sure thing, babe," said Jake. "What's the plan?"

"I want you to go to the Hot Dog Kingdom and check up on the princess," she said. "I worry for Hot Dog Princess. Her 'kingdom' is nothing more than a backyard, and she only has about seven guards who don't know up from down. Please Finn, make haste . . . I don't want to see my friend die."

* * *

**Hey everybody! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of what it hopefully going to be a 4-7 chapter story. You need not fear of this turning grimdark or overbearingly sad, but this does deal with the subject matter. Remember to tell me what you honestly think so I can improve upon my craft, and thank you for reading, -TheOneAndOnly1993**


End file.
